Below the water line
In any business there are always jugular issues, below the water line things, that if left unresolved to the satisfaction of all parties, will sink the ship.
Twenty five years ago our Relate counsellor said, “You’ve come here today because your relationship is in some kind of ditch. Well, after a few meetings with me you will both climb out of the ditch. If you climb out on the same side you will go off and have another go at your marriage. If you climb out on opposite sides, there will be a parting of the ways.” I looked across at my first wife; she nodded her assent and so we went for it.
It’s exactly the same in the Boardroom. I’ve had many situations over the years where, during this process of self discovery that we call the Growth Cycle, one or more parties have stormed out of the room in a highly charged emotional, verbal and sometimes physical state.
Eventually, no matter how upset they may be, the best option for both themselves and their business, is to return to the table and face the issue that caused the problem in the first place. And yes, they will find out which side of the ditch they and their colleagues are on.
And that is a result for all concerned.
Value
The demands of business are such that we can so easily lose sight of our values, or even worse, forget what it is that really matters to us.
Back in 1955 a well meaning uncle gave me a copy of Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing by Bernard Venables. It is a paperback of cartoon sketches showing Mr Crabtree and his young son Peter fishing for various species during the different seasons of the year.
I read that book so many times as I grew up that the pages eventually disintegrated and fell out; my favourite fish became the perch. When I was 28 and looking for a place to live the words on page 95 of the book kept flashing across my mind, even in the middle of the night ....”if you want to catch really big perch ....fish the River Wye at Hereford.”
So one day in 1977 I visited the place, walked over the old Wye Bridge by the Cathedral, down the bank and scooped out a handful of water to drink. In that moment I determined to spend the rest of my life living in this lovely city. Two weeks later I arrived with nowhere to live, no work and very little money.
And now, thirty four years on, it is great when a client postpones a meeting at short notice; I can be on the river in under six minutes.
Someone once said to me “You know the price of everything, but the value of nothing” They may have been right, the book cost five shillings, but how do you put a value on that?
Labels: personal values and business
